(Reuters) -- Iraq's central government and the authorities in the autonomous region of Kurdistan have resolved disputes that had been holding up progress of a draft oil law, the Iraqi Oil Ministry spokesman said on Thursday.

Asim Jihad told Reuters the draft had been submitted to parliament, adding he expected lawmakers to debate the legislation in the next few days.

Jihad declined to discuss details of the deal, which will be greeted with relief in Washington. The United States has been pressing Iraq's leaders to speed up passage of several key laws aimed at spurring national reconciliation and ending sectarian violence between majority Shi'ites and minority Sunni Arabs.

"A deal has been reached and the draft has been delivered to parliament to be discussed ... in the coming days. An agreement has been reached covering all disputes," Jihad said.

"There were very long discussions before there was a final deal."

The draft law, crucial to regulating how wealth from Iraq's huge oil reserves will be shared by its sectarian and ethnic groups, was approved by the cabinet in February but faced opposition from Kurds over who would control the oilfields. There was also a row over how revenue would be distributed.

Jihad declined to say when the agreement had been reached, adding parliament could also make changes to the draft.

Most of Iraqi's oil reserves are located in the Shi'ite south and the Kurdish north.